As the Internet becomes a more prominent means of communication and as more companies are implementing intranets, companies are striving to make both their internal and external web sites accessible to all types of people. The types of people include experienced users, inexperienced users, and people with disabilities such as visual impairments that typically use a screen reader to access and read information presented on Internet and intranet sites.
But making Internet and intranet sites accessible to all is not a simple task and is often overlooked by many web designers. One particular problem is the use of links that launch a new browser instance or window. Links that launch a new browser window are in common use, yet they can be confusing to novice users as well as users of screen readers. Novice users often do not know that a new browser window has launched and are confused by the loss of back button navigation. Novice users are also often confused by overlapping windows or have difficulty managing them, resulting in the accidental closure of browser windows. Users employing screen readers are also confused because the screen reader reads from the newly opened window and the user does not know that a new browser window has launched and believes the information in the original browser window to be lost. Because of this confusion, novice users or users using screen readers may not be able to effectively navigate the Internet or intranets.